The freedom that comes from cutting the cord on a vacuum cleaner is tremendous – you can reach higher, lower and around the corner without a cable holding you back. Cordless vacuums tend to be smaller and lighter and they’re easier to get out to sort a quick spill, though bigger cordless machines can be almost as powerful as a corded cleaner. But with cordless, the battery is key. It limits the length of use, especially if you opt for full power. Smaller cordless machines, referred to as handhelds, are designed for quicker jobs when you don’t need a full-size vacuum cleaner and run for shorter times, often as little as 10 minutes. 1. AEG CX7 LI-45 Animal: £219.99, John Lewis Can’t decide between handheld or full-sized? Now you don’t have to. This has a removable unit that pops out of the main stick for those smaller jobs. LED lights on the main unit shine on dust lurking in shadows under the wardrobe, say. And there’s an excellent hair and dirt removal system on the motorised brush roll – you just press a pedal to untangle caught fibres.

There’s also a specific nozzle on the main unit for picking up pet hair. This vacuum runs for 45 minutes between charges. It even stands upright on its own. 2. Dyson V8 Absolute: £439.99, Dyson This latest Dyson has a run time that’s twice that of its predecessor – it can last for up to 40 minutes, more than most rivals manage. The dirt pick-up on the V8 is highly impressive and it’s light and easy to manoeuvre. best way to clean upholstery microfiberIt comes with a full-length wand so you don’t have to bend down – or reach too high – and an additional cleaner head for hard floors is included. duct cleaning for saleIt also has a maximum power mode which lasts for a shorter period (seven minutes) between charges. best vacuum cleaner for stairs

An improved bin-emptying system means every bit of dust is squeezed out effortlessly. 3. Dyson V6 Top Dog: £239.99, Dyson Dyson calls this a handheld, as although it’s cordless, it’s designed for smaller tasks. It is capable of cleaning all around the home but lacks the full-length wand of the V8 above. It also runs for a shorter time (20 minutes) and shorter still on max mode. Highly powerful and satisfying to use, the V6 comes in four different versions including one for car and boat cleaning and one with a motorised tool especially designed to clean your mattress, capturing allergens as it goes. The range of V6 cleaners is consistently good. 4. Black & Decker WDB215WA Dustbuster: £34.99, Maplin The Dustbuster handheld is reasonably light (1.9kg) and has a large nozzle to pick up bigger debris – everything from broken glass to pet food. The bin capacity is smaller than many but it’s easy to empty thanks to a quick-release system and the dirt bowl and filters are washable.

It’s wet-and-dry capable thanks to a squeegee accessory, and there’s a soft brush for upholstery. Simple to use and great value. 5. Vax U85-ACLG-B Air Cordless Lift Duo: £229.99, Argos This is a full-sized machine which runs for a total of 60 minutes – much longer than other models here. It also has a larger bin capacity than most cordless cleaners. The cylinder detaches from the main unit so it’s easy to lift it up and reach to clean higher. Note that there are two batteries, each running for half an hour and each needs three hours to recharge. 6. Hoover SJ72WWB6 Jive: £34.99, John Lewis Hoover’s jauntily named and brightly coloured Jive has a crevice tool that flips out to handle debris in awkward places. A squeegee tool handles wet mess. This handheld is small and light (it weighs less than 1kg) but the flip side to that is the capacity is small and run time limited to 10 minutes. 7. AEG AG5104WD Rapido: £49.99, Argos The Rapido series from AEG is strong on details – like the little wheels at the front to slide across the surface without sucking the fibres out of the carpet.

It’s also designed to handle wet spills as well as dry thanks to a built-in rubber blade. The ergonomically shaped handle makes it easy to use and there’s a charging stand which can be wall-mounted. Runs for 10 minutes between charges. 8. Bosch Athlet BCH6RE8KGB: £169.95, Argos Like the Dyson V8, this cleaner has extended run time, up to 40 minutes between charges. Note that the recharge time is also long – six hours to reach 100 per cent charge. The Bosch is designed to have suction at the sides as well as the front, to ensure you get cleaning results at the edges of rooms, too. The motorised brush offers strong performance. 9. Vorwerk Kobold VC100: £129, Vorwerk The futuristic-looking Kobold is light and ergonomically well-balanced. Its size and weight means the dust canister is the smallest on test (0.2 litres). It runs for around 20 minutes, though chances are you may have filled it by then. There are no extra tools so getting into tiny corners isn’t as easy as most rivals.

But it works very well on smaller tasks especially. 10. Hoover 14.4v Capsule CA144BU2: £79.99, Argos Like the AEG CX7 above, the Capsule 14.4v is a full-sized stick vacuum with a removable handheld which pops off the back, ideal for cleaning the stairs, for instance. It has a more powerful motor than many handhelds and is easy to manoeuvre. It runs for 20 minutes between charges and it has the biggest capacity on test apart from the Vax U85. The Verdict: Cordless vacuum cleaners Dyson, in both its models here, continues to offer the best design, cleaning performance and usability, but it comes at a price. Still, the AEG CX7 LI-45 Animal is versatile with its removable handheld built in to a bigger machine. The Vax U85-ACLG-B Air Cordless Lift Duo has bigger bin capacity and outstanding run time if you don’t mind changing batteries half way. Also, the wet-and-dry AEG AG5104WD Rapido is worth a look, though the capacity is smaller than some here.The top performers in our review are the Black & Decker Auto Pivot Vac, the Gold Award winner;

Metropolitan VM6BS500, the Silver Award winner; and Dirt Devil Extreme Power, the Bronze Award winner. Here’s more on choosing a unit to meet your needs, along with detail on how we arrived at our ranking of the top 10 car vacuum cleaners. Even the most committed car enthusiast cannot keep all messes away from their prized possession. Those with a strict no-eating-in-the-car policy can still expect to have anything that attaches itself to shoes – dirt, leaves and worse – accumulate on their car's floor periodically. Some automobile lovers may be willing to pay for professional auto detailing on a regular basis. For the rest of us, a car vacuum cleaner will be more than enough to keep our cars reasonably neat. It can also tide you over between professional cleanings. Kids, pets and life in general can leave messes in your vehicle, and while you could clean with a normal household vacuum or one at the car wash, there are many advantages to owning a vacuum specifically for cars.

It is nice to have something with you in the car so you can clean up messes when you are on the road, for example, especially since a road trip is when you are likely to have some of your most epic spills. Not every car vacuum can be plugged into the vehicle itself, which can impact portability on a road trip, but when you sidle up to a developed campsite, you will have access to an outlet. In your garage you will have access to an outlet, too, so you can clean everything at the beginning and end of a vacation if you choose a vacuum that does not allow you to plug into the car itself. Cars present a tricky cleaning environment that can benefit from a specific tool. There are very tight spaces in a vehicle, tighter than you find in an average home. Parents and pet owners especially know that food and fur can make their way into even the most remote nooks and crannies of an automobile. A specific type of vacuum can reach them. Our car vacuum cleaner reviews focus on units that are designed for automobiles rather than just general handheld units.

There is a whole class of vacuums that have extra-long cords, crevice tools, hoses and other features that make them perfect for cars and trucks. For more information, check out our articles about car vacuums. The best auto vacuum is powerful and portable. Sometimes those two characteristics can contradict each other, though. You have to consider your own situation to determine your best buy when it comes to portability verses power. Wall Plugin – Generally speaking, the vacuums that plug into the wall are the most powerful in terms of suction, but they force you to be tethered to civilization. If you opt for a vacuum that has to be plugged into a wall, you have to be near some type of civilization in order to use it, which is inconvenient, but it will likely have the suction to handle more stubborn messes. Battery Powered – These are ultra-portable but you never know when the battery will lose power. The suction on these is impressive but may fade over time, as the battery ages, or they may have less suction in between charging sessions, even early on.

Automobile Powered – If you value portability the most, you will want to consider the units that can be powered by your vehicle, plugged into the 12V outlet, originally used to power the car's cigarette lighter. That way you can use them anywhere you drive. This type of unit is generally going to have less suction than those that plug into regular outlets, but if you really want something that can go anywhere, it may be worth it, and the best ones clean up most messes just fine. They just may not have the suction to clean up anything that is really ground in. There are a handful of units that can handle wet messes, and it can be nice to have that option, although an absorbent cloth some and hot water can do almost as much for many spills. When it is fully dry you can vacuum as normal. We tested each vacuum in our lineup on an array of substances. We soiled car seats and mats with dirt, pet hair, garlic skins, crumbs and breakfast cereal, grinding each of them into test surfaces, to see how the vacuums picked up different types of messes, whether course or fine.

We recorded how well they extracted each substance from the various car surfaces. For some tests we simply counted the number of passes it took each unit to get the carpet truly clean. We also dropped dirt in a narrow crevice between a car's front seat and the door frame to see how maneuverable each vacuum is in tight spots. We used any attachments that were included with each unit to access the mess in the narrow spot, giving it every chance to access it. We considered motor power in our rankings as well, since that generally leads to more suction. We also looked at cord length, which will matter for getting to any spot in even the biggest SUV, as well as the weight of each vacuum. The lighter and smaller the unit, the easier it will be to use for long periods of time. We considered customer service attributes as well, especially warranties. A long-lasting vacuum is more cost effective and a good warranty can ensure that it will last. We were most impressed with the Black & Decker Auto Pivot Vac, Metropolitan Stainless Hand Vac VM6BS500 and Black & Decker Dustbuster Auto Vac.

The Auto Pivot Vac is the perfect example of a balance between power and portability, which is key in this category of products. The units that plug into cigarette lighters have a reputation for being gutless, but we found this one to have plenty of suction for all the different things we asked it to pick up – dirt, breakfast cereal, crumbs and more. It has an adjustable, integrated crevice tool that can get into lots of tough spots. Metropolitan's Stainless Hand Vac is pretty, powerful and versatile. This unit made all of our cleanup tasks look easy. It can pick up large messes and has the potential to be useful around the house too for cleaning up computers and tidying up other small spaces. Having to plug into an outlet is a drawback for portability, but in every other way it is a great unit. Generally a cordless, bagless vacuum would not be our first choice for this category. The Dirt Devil Extreme Power garnered a third-place spot, though, because of its good suction, integrated crevice tool and lightweight design.